Major Railroad Archival Collections

Summary

Major railroad archival collections at the Nebraska State Historical Society and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to be cataloged are as follows. Union Pacific Railroad Collection: Relates to all aspects of the Union Pacific Railroad Company and its business activities, including corporate, legal, and public relations; engineering; railroad construction; and locomotive design. Chicago Burlington and Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad--Lines West Collection: Includes specific field books, maps, drawings, and other materials from 1869-1950s relating to land development in Nebraska. Charles Kennedy Railroad Collection: Includes annual reports of most railroads across the United States, and state railroad commission reports from 1826-1980. Val Kuska Collection: Documents the CB&Q Railroad Company's efforts to attract settlers and improve agricultural practices in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas. It also relates to rail traffic in the 1900s. Developed by a colonizing agenda and agricultural development agent for the CB&Q railroad. Among these collections are several thousand photographs, advertising posters, scrapbooks, and time tables.

Program

Cataloging Hidden Collections

Amount Requested

$208,500

Year Added

2010

Institution

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries

Contact(s)

  • Katherine Walter

Collaborating Institution(s)

Nebraska State Historical Society

Collection Size

1700 linear feet, 2100000 objects

Date Range

1826 - 1950

Geographic Scope

Railroad archival materials in the collections are for rail lines mostly west of Chicago; however, the Charles Kennedy Collection is national in scope.